Aubrey Barker Road widened to 4 lanes

…utility companies urged to avoid stymying projects

Amid stagnation faced in the completion of the Aubrey Barker Road, tenders are out by Public Works Ministry for the continuation of the 1.3 kilometre road, which will be expanded to four lanes.
According to Public Works Minister Juan Edghill, it was underscored that this project has experienced its fair share of interruptions causing stagnation. During the inspection, the Minister discovered a utility pole directly aligned with the ongoing construction works. Following this realisation the utility company was informed by the overseeing engineer, but made no attempt to have the pole removed. As a result, the Minister immediately notified the company to have the pole removed before the end of the day, or appropriate action would be taken.
“There again, I had to make a decision on the spot to call a utility company to indicate that if they do not move their wires…we will issue a public notice informing the community,” he stated, while explaining that the companies would have to remove the poles and wires themselves and the utility companies would have to bear the responsibility for those affected.
Further, the Minister then explained, that the Ministry has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) with Guyana Water Inc (GWI); GTT; Digicel; Guyana Power and Light (GPL) and National Data Management Authority (NDMA) which states that all the utility providers, as of January 2024, in conjunction with the Public Works Ministry, will be operating to ensure that no one entity prevents another partner from working. He urged all utility companies to adhere to the MoU to the benefit of the residents of these communities who rely on these important pieces of infrastructure.